Epigenetics Startup Completes $22 Million Series B Funding Round

Posted on June 14, 2010
Filed Under Healthcare | Leave a Comment

Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the biopharmaceutical company developing new drugs targeting epigenetic regulation of the human genome, raised $22 million in a Series B financing round. The financing round was led by SR One, the independent corporate healthcare venture capital arm of GlaxoSmithKline, with participation from existing investors Third Rock Ventures, The Column Group, Venrock, and Altitude Life Science Ventures. This Series B financing brings the total amount of capital raised by Constellation in the two years since its founding to $54 million.

Epigenetics is the study of inherited changes in phenotype (appearance) or gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence. These changes may remain through cell divisions for the remainder of the cell’s life and may also last for multiple generations. However, there is no change in the underlying DNA sequence of the organism; instead, non-genetic factors cause the organism’s genes to behave (or “express themselves”) differently.

Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the development of Constellation’s pipeline of compounds towards the clinic. These funds will also enable Constellation to continue applying its innovative epigenetics product engine to probe multiple classes of novel drug targets involved in chromatin regulation and disease.

About Constellation Pharmaceuticals
Constellation Pharmaceuticals is the leading biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics in the emerging field of epigenetics, a new field of science that focuses on selective regulators of gene function and expression. The Company’s academic founders represent the core thought leaders in epigenetics and are responsible for numerous key advances in the field. Constellation Pharmaceuticals is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit the company’s website at .

Sphere: Related Content

Commercializing Personalized Health Technology Solutions: Healthrageous Secures $6 Million Series A financing

Posted on June 10, 2010
Filed Under Healthcare, Venture News | Leave a Comment

Healthrageous, Inc., a personalized health technology company, completed a $6 million Series A financing led by North Bridge Venture Partners (Boston, MA/San Mateo, CA) along with investment partners Egan Managed Capital (Boston, MA) and Long River Ventures (Amherst, MA). Proceeds will be used to commercialize a proven health technology platform that provides personalized, interactive, motivational self-management tools which help individuals shed unhealthy habits, improve their adherence to medical advice, and embrace healthy lifestyles.

The Company’s target customers are large employers, health plans and insurers, specialty care and disease management companies, provider health systems, pharmaceutical makers and clinical trial sponsors, pharmacy benefit managers, device makers, and consumer wellness retail and fitness brands. Customers may license Healthrageous’ core platform to design their own custom solution, or may purchase Healthrageous’ solutions off-the-shelf on a turn-key basis for deployment under their own brand or under the Company’s Healthrageous brand.

About the Company
Launched in 2010, Healthrageous, Inc. designs and delivers highly effective, personalized, interactive, motivational self-management solutions that help individuals shed unhealthy habits, improve their adherence to medical advice, and embrace healthy lifestyles. Healthrageous achieves its success by combining wireless biometric sensors, smart phones, individualized coaching, incentive programs and social network support in a real-time, interactive, feedback-rich experience that keeps individuals involved and motivated toward achieving their personal health and wellness goals. The company’s solutions are based on technologies developed at the Center for Connected Health, a division of Partners HealthCare, founded by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, teaching affiliates of Harvard Medical School. Healthrageous, Inc. is headquartered in Massachusetts.

Sphere: Related Content

SiliconBlue Technologies, the Programmable Logic Start-up, Completes $15M Financing

Posted on June 10, 2010
Filed Under Venture News | Leave a Comment

SiliconBlue Technologies, the startup specializing in ultra-low power, single-chip, SRAM mobileFPGA™ devices for mobile handset applications, completed a $15M Series C preferred stock financing, with Apex Venture Partners, and the existing group of investors including NEA, Crosslink Capital, and BlueRun Ventures.

About SiliconBlue
SiliconBlue Technologies is the first programmable logic start-up company in 20 years to ship products in volume production. The company offers a new class of ultra-low power, single-chip, SRAM FPGAs designed specifically for handheld consumer applications. Manufactured on TSMC’s 65nm LP (low power) CMOS process, the iCE65 mobileFPGA family meets the capacity, power, area, and price requirements for high-volume, battery-operated products such as Smart Phones, eReaders, mobile internet devices, and digital still cameras. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company has a highly skilled team of programmable logic device (PLD) experts who have been instrumental in developing and patenting many of the leading programmable logic technologies in the market today.

Sphere: Related Content

ContactPro.com - a dysfunctional email marketing service

Posted on April 20, 2010
Filed Under Making a living online | Leave a Comment

I have been using Contactpro.com for several months to run email campaign for conference website. It used to be a good service, not anymore. Since March the Contactpro service in on a downward spiral - the site is frequently down or annoyingly slow, email campaigns sent with a considerable delay, test email function not working. Support is unexisting, neither email nor phone nor live chat are answered.

Verdict: Avoid this service.

Sphere: Related Content

1and1 Webmail is Chronically Down

Posted on February 2, 2010
Filed Under Online Tools | Leave a Comment

We have been using 1and1 hosting service for years and somehow we got used to it becoming progressively worse. Recently 1and1 introduced new version of webmail interface, Webmail 2.0. While the old version was far cry from Yahoo Mail or Gmail, at least it worked for the most part of the day. A new version goes for vacation every day at unpredictable hours for unspecified period of time. That’s besides being slow, cluttered and user-hostile.

1and1 support is rather unhelpful. When you complain the best you get is a meaningless canned response from some call center in Philippines:

We apologize for this inconvenience that is causing you right now however, our admins are already informed about it and they are currently working on it to fix this issue and complete the maintenance as soon as possible. Your patience on this matter is highly appreciated.

These canned responses right out of script book were received hours after the problem has been resolved:

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience it has caused you. Rest assured that our Administrators are already working on it. You may send an email to our Complaints Department

12 hours after the problem has been resolved:

We do apologize for this inconvenience. Rest assured that you would still be able to access your email account. Our administrators are working on this case to be resolved.

Instead of improving customer service the evil minds in charge of 1and1 perfectionize the art of venting out customer’s rage - after every complaint to support service you’ll be asked to provide your feedback in “Satisfied with our Service?” survey.

Sphere: Related Content

keep looking »